Author Note: I thought that, since people do know me in game, I should stress one thing about my avatar, Halburg. In game, he has more than the six dragons mentioned but, due to the pain of remembering them all, I will only include probably up to fourteen of them throughout the story, most likely but I will make cameos of my other dragons on other parts, so look out for those throughout the rest of the story. Points to who can find them out XD
P.S, two of my actual dragons and one O.C. dragon have already appeared in the story, both named and both belong to Halburg outside the story, points to whoever can name them first. Also no prize for getting the right answer, sorry.
The next morning, Halburg woke up to Belle sleeping at the end of his bed. He changed out of his night time clothes into his forge clothing and then walked down with Belle at his feet. The two went outside to let Smoke, Spark, Blizzard, Twist, Frill and Spines out of their pens for their breakfast. While he was opening the trap door to the stable, Belle was already tucking into her basket of cod covered in her beloved algae. When the other five dragons came out, they stuck their six snouts into a basket for each face.
The trainer of the dragons then went inside before emerging with a bowl of porridge and a mug of water. Halburg ate his breakfast on a log while he watched the dragons tuck in. Halburg also saw several dragon riders up early, all eagerly going to and from location to home, caring boxes which would be empty on one journey then full on the return. Halburg, admittedly, wasn't a mourning person on the days of Mondays to Thursdays, Fridays to Sundays he would get up early though.
Halburg and Belle left for the forge after the morning ritual was done. The final preparations for his design were just to assemble it. The Gronckle Iron would be cool and the oak shaft was prepared. Aswell, other components that made it unique were already ready to be put together.
The yellow Flightmare watched as her master began to organise the parts. Oddly, in Belle's saddle was the cane Halburg had stolen from Amethyst, the boy had become fond of the cane and felt that there was more to it than meets the eye, though he had never actually been bothered to check if there was. Halburg was whistling to himself when all of a sudden, he got hit in the back of the head. "Ouch, who did that" he growled. "Wassup red" grinned a girl.
Halburg smiled at Sky&Ocean. She nicknamed him red because of his mother having origins from Eire, a.k.a Ireland. The two often fought each other, more than Ruff and Tuff at times, but only because, well they actually did it for no particular reason. "Yes shorty, what do you want" said Halburg. Halburg was also about a foot taller than her.
"Not much, anyway I am just doing runs on behalf of Headmaster. There is to be a feast tonight at the school and all students are expected to dress proper and formal" she smiled. "So, that means?" asked Halburg. "Dress formal Halburg or I will personally beat you up. So that means don't wear your normally coal covered clothes that stink of Zippleback gas and take a bath. Try incorporating that cane I saw on Belle's saddle" she smiled before leaving the letter on Halburg's desk. Halburg watched as she flew off on her Whispering Death.
Halburg rolled his eyes. He hated events and had very few dirt free clothing so he would probably pop into Johann's stall on the way home. Still, he was focused on getting his design finished so continued.
Gobber and Grump landed outside the stall when Halburg was finally finished. "Ah, is that design of yours finished?" asked the old man. "Yep, whatcha think" asked Halburg as he held up the object.
The design was based around an oak staff. The top of it was a metal hook with a flat side on the inside and sharp on the outside curve. The tip at the end was pointed. The hook was Gronckle Iron as was the spear head at the bottom. The spear was pointed and slim, with a Grapple Grounder tail tip inspired look at the bottom where it connected to the bottom of the shaft. There was also a wheel just above it with a thin strong looking rope attached to it. There were two leather places on it for Halburg's hands aswell as carvings on the wood of Smoke and Spark, Frill, Blizzard, Belle, Twist and Spines along the entire weapon from hook tip to spear end, in descending order. The overall weapon was relatively thin and just about a foot taller, because of the hook, than Halburg. It was very pretty to say the least.
"So, all this for a Gronckle Iron staff?" asked Gobber. "Well it isn't just a staff" said Halburg and at this point, the spear at the end, as the shaft was turned upside down, shot up into the ceiling. The two had an awkward silence before Gobber said "Deadly". The spring-loaded, retractable grappling hook spear wound itself back into its slot firmly.
"Anyways, you should get going, sort yourself out for tonight" said Gobber. Halburg sighed but Gobber gave him a look that said 'Go-now-or-I-will-kick-you-out'. Halburg may mock the man at times but when Gobber told him to do something, he would cast the most frightening glare. Halburg slung the staff into a sling on his back and walked alongside Belle to Trader Johann.
Inevitably, there were a ton of Viking boys and girls there getting fabrics, dresses and other formal wear. Halburg looked glumly but then found him being dragged away by two people. "Ruff, Tuff, you two let go of me" he growled. "Fine, but come with us" said Tuffnut. Barf and Belch nudged Halburg before the relations walked towards the Thorston household. "So Halburg, tell us about those pirates" said Ruffnut.
"Well, I was flying with Smoke and Spark and the terrors when I saw a boat coming towards the island. I went to check it out but they started firing dragon root arrows at me. I ended up slipping from Smoke and Spark's saddle onto deck where they took away my War Scythe. I told the dragons to go back to you guys but they got Smoke and Spark with an arrow, causing them to crash land onto the beach where they were already preparing to load up other dragons. I was left in a jail until I talked with the pirate in charge. I used a Zippleback bomb to escape with Smoke and Spark but Thor knows what is happening to those Snaptrappers and Zipplebacks, also my War Scythe" said Halburg.
His cousins nodded as they entered the household. "Anyways, why are we here?" asked Halburg. "Our mother obviously heard from us about the feast so she and Gobber made these for you" said Tuffnut as he placed a wooden and metal chest on the table. The twin's mother was the best clothes maker in the village. She made all the special clothing for figures like engaged parties, the chief and family and so on, so forth. So when she heard her nephew was going to a feast, she, and with some help from Gobber, got cracking until they were done. Thankfully, she had heard it before any other had so could get the fabrics and metals faster, thanks to Ruffnut and Tuffnut being teachers at the school.
Halburg eyed the chest before him and opened it, expecting Fireworms to fly out into his face. Instead, he saw a beautiful normal length tunic in dark purple with red Nordic designs on it. A bronze metal crown-style helmet lay atop the clothing. There were dark red pants on top with Nordic designs on the leg bottoms. Two brown leather boots were also in there along with two purple strap bracers. The bracers had Zippleback designs on them. The final piece of clothing was a dark red leather belt with a bronze buckle in the centre with the Fear class symbol in it, the Thorston symbol.
"This is really, wow, I don't know what to say, thank you" said a shocked Halburg. Ruffnut patted his shoulder and said "No charge on these. Now go on home, take a bath and get ready for tonight". Halburg closed the chest, hugged Ruff and Tuff before running out with it.
Belle flew him home and he put the chest in the main part of the house along with his new staff on a sideways, wall rack in his room. He walked out in just a green tunic, brown pants and shoes awhile later to take his bath in the spring. All the dragons came with him to be cleaned but left their saddles at home, Halburg had cleaned them this mourning anyway but didn't want them dirty.
The dragons were, apart from Belle, filthy. Belle was the most conscious of her looks and hated mud and dirt. The others were covered in dust, mud, coal and smoke. Still, Belle would have a bath like the others for just her image to be maintained. When they arrived, Halburg left his clothes on the side and got into the spring, with a bar of soap and a sponge in arms reach. The larger end of the spring was where Spines, Frill, Blizzard, Smoke and Spark were at while the slightly shallower end were Twist, Belle and Halburg were, due to Belle and Twist being smaller dragons. The dragons cleaned themselves naturally while Halburg cleaned himself.
Halburg was happy that he was the only boy there at the time, aswell as having a Monstrous Nightmare and Hobblegrunt there was a useful way of keeping the water warm. Halburg loved water, which is why he liked his Father's Scauldron a lot. He had always wanted his own Tidal class dragon but knew that one around the house was fine. He was also, despite his scrawny and tall build, quite a good swimmer.
Halburg eventually finished up and, after using Blizzard to get dry, put on his clothes but waited a while as the dragons continued their work. Twist and Blizzard were finished first so Halburg told the others to follow up after them. Belle was technically already finished but kept cleaning herself to absolute perfection until her scales glowed, and Spines forced her out.
Halburg had arrived home and the other four arrived not long after. "Alright then guys, who wants to go to a feast?" he asked them. Smoke, Spark and Blizzard already walked off in to their stables. Frill and Spines, who were the fatherly and motherly dragon figures, decided to leave it up to Twist and Belle. After realising both wanted to go, Halburg eventually decided "Since I was riding Belle at the start of the day, she can come. Sorry Twist, I'll take you round the island and to Mudraker Island tomorrow".
Twist nodded and walked away with his head down, Spines holding her wing over him and Frill behind them. "Alright Belle, let's get your saddle on you" smiled Halburg. Belle nodded and went over with him to the shed.
Belle's saddle was the same as all the other saddles with obvious design changes to match Belle's design. The leather was freshly polished and the design was of the defender saddle. Though Halburg had made some modifications, such as lowering the height of the front shield too make room for his view. The paint work was also change from red and yellow to dark green and dark purple. Overall, the saddle was smaller in looks and tidier, aswell as fit the persona of Halburg better.
Belle had her saddle on and was waiting outside for Halburg as he was getting changed. He later came out in the clothes made by his aunt aswell as holding the ruby tipped cane. Halburg looked into the sky and saw other dragons leaving for the feast. "Let's go girl, hopefully I don't make a fool of myself" he smiled. Belle merely rolled her eyes and was also secretly gloating, she knew she was going to tease the younger Twist later
Belle and Halburg were only one dragon and rider in a giant flock of dragons and riders. Snaptrappers, Deadly Nadders, Monstrous Nightmares, Sand Wraiths, Razorwhips, Hobblegrunts, Hideous Zipplebacks, Gronckles and pretty much every other species that there was in the School could be seen in a rainbow of yellows, blues, greens, reds, pinks, purples, oranges, browns, greys, whites and blacks, aswell as any other possible colour. Wild dragons in the waters below the flock were all looking up in confusion or immediately swam off in fear.
Halburg struggled finding a place to land but eventually did. Belle was left with the other dragons in a fish feeding area while tables, chairs, lamps and other furniture were laid out in the main quadrant outside the hatchery. Halburg walked in with his cane held up off the ground. He was thankful to see other Viking boys holding other fancy canes, axes, maces and swords.
Halburg was sitting by himself but soon found Jhrpiy, Sky&Ocean, Ninja Gluestick, God of Light, Nataly Rose and Haddok Girl, along with others, sat down with him. Halburg felt slightly embarrassed but Haddok Girl, one of the senior students, who was sitting next to him said "You look fine Halburg, stop fretting".
Moments late, the food started arriving by Speed Stingers, Terrible Terrors, Smothering Smokebreaths (who were trying everything not to take the tons of metal around them) and Night Terrors. Halburg, so far, was enjoying the night.
Then, from the head table, Hiccup rose. Aswell, on the head table were Headmaster, Astrid, Fishlegs, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Eret, Snotlout, Heather, Valka, Spitelout, Phlegma and Gobber. Hiccup tapped a spoon against his goblet which caused the chattering to stop. "Attention all students, I would like to thank you all for attending this evening. Though you are probably wondering why you are here. Well, no other reason than a feast really and aswell to get you all ready for the many feasts that occur throughout the New Year, particularly the juniors".
"So, in order to prepare you all for our upcoming festivals through the year; get up and start dancing" called Hiccup. At this point, some of the music began being played by the musically talented students. Hiccup with Astrid, Fishlegs with Ruffnut and Tuffnut with Heather led the dance at the front. Snotlout went to get his newly wed wife, Toril, who was cooking the meals for the students, out to dance. Spitelout watched his son, Headmaster was dancing with Phlegma, Gobber was dancing by himself (though that didn't bother him) and Valka was just tapping her foot along while petting Gruff, who was resting his head on her lap. Eret was the head of the musicians so obviously wasn't dancing as he was the music teacher, strange surprise.
Halburg watched as the others got up dancing and smiled. He had his cane strapped to his belt and was clapping along while tapping his foot along to the music. He was never one for dancing but did have a sense of rhythm. Jhrpiy though was having none of it.
While Halburg wasn't looking at her, she grabbed his hands "Come on, dance you mutton head". "No Jhrpiy I don't…" he began but he found himself already following her onto the dance floor. "Just follow me" she laughed and began to lead his steps.
Halburg was a small bit clumsy aswell as self-conscious but managed to keep following the steps of the dance. He was busy trying not to step on Jhrpiy's feet so didn't notice Tuffnut laughing before Heather hit him and the two continued.
The dancing continued but Halburg eventually decided to sit down. The girls who knew him in a positive light were all laughing amongst each other. The guys who knew him were less critical and surprised by him. Halburg took a sip from his goblet of mead as he watched the events continue in the form of dancing and older students snogging another's face off.
Halburg decided to check on Belle so unhooked his cane and walked off, his cane hitting the ground with every second stride. He wanted to go alone and was thankful nobody saw him leave.
Belle meanwhile was sound asleep between a Hideous Zippleback and Snow Wraith. Even with her saddle still strapped to her back with the long spikes on it, she was still sleeping in probably the most awkward position one could imagine. In fact, all the dragons were passed out with half eaten piles of fish, eggs, fruit and meat infront of them. Belle and the other Flightmares had fish aswell as their beloved algae infront of them; some finished while others less so.
Halburg leaned both hands on his cane while he smiled at his sleeping companion. The temptation to simply leave was strong but Halburg knew Ruffnut would be disappointed aswell as mad at him. So, Halburg was about to turn back to the feast but suddenly he saw the food of the Hideous Zippleback next to him. The dragon itself was sniffling in its' sleep and had blast marks near its stall.
"Blue oleander?" he quizzed. Halburg then became shocked as he inspected the other feeding trays and found that there was the reptilian lethal plant in only the trays of the Zippleback's, Snaptrapper's and Seashocker's. "All multiple headed dragons, this has those two mutton heads written all over it" he growled. He looked over and saw a girl and boy grinning in the distance and sneakily, crept round behind the dragons to them. 'Alright then Magnus and Natania, let's see what you two are up to?' thought Halburg.
"Brilliant Nat seems that we will sort out most of the feeble dragons in this pathetic school" grinned Magnus. "Yeah, shame we couldn't get that prized Zippleback of snot hair Thorston" laughed Natania. "Well, I don't know what dragon he brought with him but five dragons are at his house, why don't we pay them a visit and show them our new flowers" smiled Magnus. Halburg heard it all but didn't get to them in time and watched them fly off on their Razorwhip and Snow Wraith.
Halburg whistled for Belle and the Flightmare responded quickly. "Come on girl, we have to get home" he ordered as he jumped into her saddle.